Aftermath
by IWriteSinsNoTragedies
Summary: After Julien seemingly plunged to his demise, the kingdom is left to go on without him. Clover doesn't know what to accept, is the king really gone? (One shot, spoilers inside)


**Spoiler alert:** This story contains spoilers from season two, most importantly "King Juli-END?".

 **AN:** For those of you who have seen all of season two you know that the last episode ends in a cliffhanger- the first for the show. Well, since it will be a few months before the next season is released I came up with a short one shot about Clover's feelings on the whole ordeal. For those of you who don't know I'm a shipper of "Jover" (JulienxClover).

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Clover stared at the open book in front of her. The inked feather quill gripped loosely in her hand hovered over the blank page, dripping droplets of dark ink onto the paper bathed in yellow from the candlelight. Clover was about to press the tip to the paper when she hesitated, and dropped it back into the well sitting beside her journal. She sighed and leaned forward, ignoring the wet ink staining against her orange fur. No matter how long her eyes stayed on the page it remained blank.

Usually she had never had any trouble writing, it just came naturally with such finesse and passion. Her mind had never argued with her, she just sat down and the words would easily flow onto the page without a thought. Today was different though, she just wasn't in the mood, so why was she sitting here straining her eyes in the candlelight? Clover didn't know the answer, she balanced the light feather between her fingers commanding her brain to form words, nothing came. In fact all of her thoughts no longer circled around Tysander Plunderhorse, and her mystical adventures. No, they revolved around one person only.

Julien.

Even thinking his name made the boulders in her stomach sink further with guilt, she had failed him. She was his bodyguard, and she let him down, she let the entire kingdom down. Speaking of the kingdom, it was strangely silent; not a peep could she hear from the lemur population, who were usually partying all hours with Julien. It had been that way since that very evening when something happened that had shaken the island of Madagascar to its core; the king was gone, Julien was gone.

Clover closed her eyes and bit down on her lip to prevent a tear from slipping loose, the memory continued to replay in her mind, as vivid as if she were watching it happening all over again. The Mega Gecko was nearing the cliff ready to detonate and wipe out the kingdom, Julien on top prepared to jump, and escape death like he always had. He couldn't get the safety belt off- the one Timo had installed. The shock on his face was forever etched into her memory as the mechanical lizard plunged over the edge, Julien trapped inside. It had all happened so fast, before she even knew what happened there was an explosion, and he was gone. Only his leafy crown remained.

Clover shot up heaving a startled breath, she held a hand to her chest, feeling the violent vibrations of her heart. She breathed in through her nose, and leaned back in the chair, her heart slowing. It seemed to work, her grandmother Rose hadn't been wrong. She thought back to a saying she always said when she was little.

" _You are in control of your emotions, not the other way around."_

She would not let her increasing worry about the king get her down, after all they had gone through many kings- thirteen to be exact. Although none of them were like Julien; he wasn't ruthless, he didn't eat his wife, he was sweet, and kind, and sure loved to party she thought with a sad smile.

Clover shook her head, and slapped herself.

 _Stop it!_

 _She_ breathed again. "Okay Clover, just get your mind off of him."

Her gaze fell back on the book, she had planned on writing to take her mind off of the tragedy, unfortunately it didn't seem to work as she hoped. She scooted closer and flipped through the various pages, finding drawing after drawing accompanied by words; because what was a story without words?.

Sadly she couldn't create a spark of any inspiration, in fact flipping through her journal only furthered her depression. Julien had always been trying to sneak a peak inside, she never did let him. With a heavy sigh she slammed it shut and stood up, her lime green eyes searching the dimly lit shack. There had to be something to distract her, her gaze fell on a pile of ninja stars embedded into the wall.

"Perfect!" Clover forced them out of the wall and glided her finger down over the curves, and grooves of the blades. They were a little dull, but still sharp enough to use. She drew her arm back and launched the weapon across the room, she clenched her fists together, her eyes shining with cruel glee as she observed the spinning star vanish in the shadows. A noise came shortly afterward; she hit something.

"Yes!" she pumped her fist in the air and smirked, of course she knew she wouldn't miss. Hopping on her toes she excitedly bounded over to see her target, which was somewhere near the right side of her home. She approached her desk, finding it the way it was; everything was in order, not even the ink had been tipped over.

Clover frowned, "well, that was disheartening." An object gleamed from the corner of her eye, she turned her head, and stiffened. She had found her ninja star, and its target; the round bottom half of a coconut, and the leafs topping it stood out like a swore thumb compared to the rest of the room. It was Julien's crown.

Clover quickly removed her weapon and tossed it on the desk, she looked back at the lonely head accessory. Maurice had insisted that someone else hold onto it, his undying faith that Julien was still alive never faded. Although all hope of the miracle seemed to have evaporated before their very eyes, Maurice had sent a group out to search the water for any sign of the beloved King. They found none, not even his remains. This only confirmed his belief. Mort didn't know what to believe, the little mouse lemur had slipped into insanity without the King's feet. All he would do was sit for hours cradling his box of Julien's toe nails, it was disturbing to be honest.

As for Clover, she didn't know what to accept either; there was certainly compelling evidence that he was dead. Although they didn't find a body, nor did she actually see him die, she only seen him fall over the cliff; seemingly to his demise. If only his uncle hadn't returned, if only she had been quicker, if only...

Clover gritted her teeth, and slammed her fist down on the table. It was her fault, she was his bodyguard. She was supposed to protect him, now the kingdom didn't have a king. It was in shambles, everyone was depressed and frantic; fearing their previous King would return- again.

 _And it's all because of you!_

A growl escaped her throat, she gripped the corners of the desk and tipped it, sending papers and ink everywhere. Clover ripped the stacks of books from their shelves, flinging them across the room. She tore her claws through the sheets of her bed, and shredded her pillows. She punched the walls, she tore up the floor, the entire room was in ruins by the end of her fit of blind rage.

Heaving she stood in the middle of the ink stained flooring, her left eye twitching, ignoring the obvious pain in her broken knuckles. Her eyes darted around the now destroyed shack surveying the damage she had inflicted; every corner was trashed, just as she wanted. Papers littered the floor, torn from their books, broken sections of furniture lay in heaps, the tattered, torn curtains were strewn over the overturned desk; now with a chip in its top. Only the candles remained providing their source of light, fortunately she hadn't knocked them over. She breathed through her nose, slowly bringing herself back, once again she had blacked out- only this time no one was there to stop her.

Clover was about to start cleaning the mess up, when a voice from behind made itself known.

"My, My, Clo-Clo. What a mess."

Her ear twitched, she knew that voice. She brought her teeth down harder till they started grinding the bottom half. Clover turned around and faced the intruder with a glower, her face set into a scowl.

"Now is not the time, Crimson," she grumbled through her teeth.

Crimson smiled back at her, taking joy in her frustration. She strode inside, moving her slim hips as she did so. Clover's heated glare followed her every movement, her fists tightening. She winced slightly from the pressure, but remained firm "what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with Sage?" she asked with disdain.

"Oh, I sent him on a little journey," Crimson replied indifferently.

"I'm surprised you're not in jail, after all you did try to poison the king!"

"Well, it turns out I didn't have to," she said snidely. "I heard what happened today, word spreads fast you know."

"Of course you know," Clover sneered "and I bet you've come here to rub my face in it, Sister."

"Now, why on earth would I do that, Dear Clo-Clo?"

Her face hardened "because you want to see me fail!" she shot back with an accusing finger at her twin sister. "But you listen to me, you and uncle King Julien have not won. Julien is out there somewhere, and we will find him!"

Crimson scoffed "yeah, good luck with that. I hate to break it to you, but your precious King is gone. He's gotten what he's deserved...for breaking my heart" she pouted with false sadness, a hand over her heart.

Clover turned away with disgust and began sweeping up the remains of her room "do you really think he actually wanted to marry you?" she asked dubiously.

Crimson laughed "of course," she held up her index finger "I had Ju-Ju wrapped around my finger" she twirled it with a teasing smile.

Clover rolled her eyes and threw the clutter she had gathered into a nearby waste bin with more force than first intended, it took all she had to restrain herself from clawing her sister's eyes out. "As you can see I have a lot of cleaning up to do, you can kindly let yourself out," she instructed bluntly "before I put you behind bars myself."

"For what?" her dimple faced twin wondered.

Clover threw her book down and faced her, her eyes narrowed. "For being responsible for the king's disappearance."

"I didn't send him over a cliff," Crimson defended modestly. "That was your worthless scientist."

"To help him take back the kingdom, which you stole from him" Clover shot back. She took a step towards her "in fact if you hadn't tried to poison him, his uncle and the foosa wouldn't have taken over!" She spun around and continued to comb through the rubble, trying to hide the devastation in her stony face.

"Well, it wasn't my job to protect him. Which you obviously didn't do," Crimson added, she folded her arms with a smug smile.

"I tried!" snapped Clover, her voice lowered as she trailed off. "It just all happened so fast."

Eying the distraught lemur before her Crimson's wicked smile widened, she had finally bested her sister and destroyed her former fiancé, talk about killing two birds with one stone. She knelt beside Clover whose head was declined, and patted her lowered shoulder with mocking sympathy.

"You must be devastated. I can tell you had feelings for him," she cooed with a venomous grin, revealing her canines.

Clover's head snapped up, her eyes widened. "What? What are you talking about?" She asked incredulously.

"I knew you were jealous of us," Crimson purred with a bat of her long eyelashes.

Clover pinched the bridge of her nose with an exasperated sigh. "That's not true," she countered "ours was a business relationship. I'm worried about the kingdom, without Julien they've lost the confidence to even leave their homes. If you weren't so busy carelessly destroying the souls of men you would know that," she said stiffly.

She rose to her feet and dusted the dirt from her knees, her growing frustration with her sister clear. Clover grabbed her shoulders and pushed her in the direction of the door "you've overstayed your welcome, now unless you want to be thrown in jail I suggest you leave".

"Oh, just admit it, Clo-Clo" Crimson jeered, she turned around and was met with Clover's sour frown. Clover slammed the door in her face, and dropped her head into her hand with a sigh.

"I thought she would never leave."

She looked out at the demolished shack and set to work repairing it. As she was collecting the scattered papers she once again came across Julien's crown. Clover took it in her hands, she stared down at it with a nostalgic smile. Julien sure shared a lot of memories with the old accessory, she hoped the day's events weren't the last. She knew he was out there somewhere, he just had to be.

She wandered towards the window and pulled back the curtains, revealing the dark starless sky. With a soft sigh she placed the crown on the window sill and cupped her hands together, doing something she hadn't done in a long time; pray.

"Frank, it's me, Clover. I know we haven't talked since I was a little girl, I guess I just lost faith when you let my grandmother die," Clover sighed again. "But I really need you now," she stared down at her hands. "You have to let Julien return, it's not his time. He's a good King, the kingdom needs his guidance. It just wouldn't be the same without him, and neither would I" she admitted, gazing back at the starless sky. "I know he has made his fair share of mistakes- more than others, but he's a good man, he proved that today. He needs to come home, back to the people who love him."

Her prayer finished, Clover took the crown and walked back to her desk. Wiping away the lone tear that fell down her cheek she set it back down on the desk, her face set in determination.

"We will find you."


End file.
